Ivan Demidov's arrival with the Montreal Canadiens may be happening much earlier than expected. KHL club SKA St. Petersburg announced that they have mutually agreed with the player to release him from his contract early so he can join the Habs before the end of this season. KHL contracts normally don't terminate until later in the spring, which would have prevented Demidov from playing in another league.

Thank you, Ivan 👏

SKA and Ivan Demidov have taken a joint decision which will see the forward join the Montreal Canadiens this season. His KHL rights will remain with SKA. He will return to Saint Petersburg if he doesn’t gain a foothold in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/CsyMPKvE7k

— SKA Ice Hockey Club (@hcSKA_News) April 8, 2025

The Montreal Canadiens announced later Tuesday that Demidov had signed his entry-level contract and that it will begin this season. Because Demidov was part of Montreal's reserve list as all drafted prospects are, he will be eligible to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs should Montreal choose to use him there.

It was always believed that Demidov would leave SKA after his contract concluded, but probably not in time to join the Habs for any point of this season.

That he got out of his contract early is a surprising development that most in Montreal didn't foresee, at least not publicly. SKA's KHL playoffs run ended over the weekend, but Demidov was still potentially eligible to play for one of their U20 teams or second-tier team in the MHL or VHL, respectively. However, SKA's shock announcement changes everything.

After appearing in just four games in the KHL last season, Demidov took the league by storm in 2024-25, posting 49 points in 65 games. He also had five points in the playoffs despite his ice time greatly fluctuating for the KHL side.

Demidov was selected fifth overall by Montreal last summer after posting two points per game in Russia's top U20 league, but still had a year remaining on his KHL contract.

Montreal GM Kent Hughes visited Demidov in December, alongside a contingent of fellow Canadiens execs including head scout Nick Bobrov, who is a St. Petersburg native. After that visit, Demidov's season took off along with his ice time.

Demidov's 49 points is the most ever scored by a U20 player in the KHL over a single season. The previous high was set by Kirill Kaprizov, who had 42 points as a 19-year-old. Current Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov had 41 points in his own 19-year-old season last year.

Expectations are high for Demidov. It is unclear when he will play or if he will play with Montreal at the end of this season. The Habs are likely heading to the playoffs and it may be a tall order to ask a player to adjust to North American hockey during the most difficult time of the season.

Regardless of when Demidov plays, there is no more doubting when he will arrive. That he is on his way to Montreal and now under NHL contract puts some finality on any concerns that he might re-sign with St. Petersburg, as some top players have chosen to do over the years. Even though Demidov said he would likely sign right away, one can never know for sure until a deal is done.

Montreal now gets a chance to work more closely with their top prospect and add Demidov to a team that has a number of high-profile young players including Clader Trophy candidate Lane Hutson, recent No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, scoring sensation Cole Caufield, captain Nick Suzuki and plenty more. 

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